3 Ways To Keep Guests Engaged At Your Trade Show Booth

Do you and your company attend a lot of trade shows? If so, you likely know how difficult it can be to keep guests in your booth for a meaningful amount of time. Guests often wander from booth to booth, so if you don't offer something compelling, it's easy for them to quickly move on. That may make it difficult to get your message across. If guests only spend enough minutes, or even seconds, at your booth, that may not be enough time for your representatives to really make a connection. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to keep guests interested in your booth. Here are three of the best ways to keep them engaged:

Have a booth host. Often, guests will move on from a booth because they're uncertain of what they should do or who they should talk to. Unsure of the booth's purpose, they quickly grab any giveaways and move on to the next booth. You can avoid this by having a guest plan of action. Know exactly what you would like them to do when they get to your booth. Who do you want them to talk to? What should they experience?

Then, designate one person of your team as the booth host. This person should be out front greeting people as soon as they approach. The host should then direct them to the appropriate team member, display, or other experience.

Offer snacks and drinks. For many trade show guests, walking around the show floor is a struggle. They may be used to sitting in an office all day. Or they may have had a late dinner or entertainment session the night before. Either way, you can help them out by offering a place to sit as well as snacks and drinks. You may even make a snack bar the centerpiece of your booth. Then your representatives can sit and talk with your guests while they enjoy a bit to eat.

Reach out on social media. The event you're at probably has a designated hashtag that people are using on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Keep track of that tag's activity. When you see that people have checked in or have mentioned the show, invite them to your booth. Even better, offer to take pictures of guests and their friends and colleagues. You can then upload them to Twitter and Instagram and tag everyone involved. That way, they have a quick and easy keepsake from the event.

You may also want to talk to your trade show booth design company. They may be able to recommend design elements that could also keep your guests engaged.